The Badgers are sending another wave of prospects into the pros. Wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, running back James White and linebacker Chris Borland are the ones generating buzz. Allen, not so much. But he’s the one who set a school record by playing in 54 collegiate games. Allen never missed a game. Over his final two seasons, he started 26 times

The 6-foot-2 1/2 , 329-pound Allen — though not “too sexy” — expects to go somewhere between the third and seventh rounds. Space-eaters find homes in the NFL. His experience in 4-3 and 3-4 schemes should help. Above all, he’s OK taking on multiple blockers.

That record of 54 games is a point of pride for Allen.

“I think that speaks to me being an accountable football player. I’m tough,” Allen said. “Those are two things I really pride myself on.”

Part of it is luck. Allen has avoided injuries to his knees and head.

Much of it is toughness. From his true freshman year in 2010 to his senior year in 2013, Allen did battle injuries. The worst was a bad ankle. His entire junior season — totaling 37 tackles (7.5 TFL) and 2.5 sacks in the Badgers’ 4-3 — Allen’s 330 pounds were held up by a popped wheel.

“You’re always going to have those bumps and bruises when you’re playing football, especially in the trenches,” Allen said. “So just a lot of minor sprains and things like that, but thankfully never anything too serious.”

Still, this ankle was "not fun" to play on, Allen concedes. He taped it, spatted it, the whole pregame process was "complicated,” he said.

His senior year, the pain subsided. Surgery paid off and Allen finished as the Badgers' iron man.

A classical 3-4 nose, Allen’s job was to take on multiple blockers to free up Borland and others. He had only 10 solo tackles himself with 1.5 sacks, maybe one reason the combine didn’t come calling. He was snubbed. Behind Allen, Borland managed 112 tackles (8.5 for loss) in 12 games. After any tackles for loss, sacks, a big play of any kind, Borland would buy Allen candy.

And when Trolli heard about this deal, the company sent Allen a care package.

As for the job of eating up blockers itself, it’s not so simple. Missing spring ball on that surgically repaired ankle eliminated any 3-4 introduction period, but Allen picked the job up as the season progressed.

“When you’re playing that 0-tech and you’re getting a block from the center and the guard, usually it’s the back-side guard,” Allen said, “it really depends on the look they give you. The biggest thing is just getting knock-back on that center, which makes it a lot more difficult for that guard to come down on you. When the center knocks you back off the line of scrimmage, swapping you for the guard, he can get on your hip and drive you down.

“But if you knock the center back, the guard has a harder time because he has a tougher angle.”

At his pro day, Allen recorded 30 reps on the bench, a 33-inch vertical leap and said he clocked between 1.65 and 1.73 seconds in the 10-yard dash. The vertical would have been third-best amongst defensive tackles, while the 104-inch broad jump would have been ninth-best.

Those 30 reps at 225 would have ranked 18th-best amongst everyone in Indianapolis.

A lot people may look the stats, Allen says. That’s not what his job was about.

“You have to take pride in it,” he said. “I think I did that well. I took pride in playing nose guard and keeping Chris Borland and the rest of our linebackers free. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

(Journal Sentinel photo by Rick Wood)

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.